More millions pumped towards King Goodwill Zwelithini

The King is smiling all the way to the bank.

PIETERMARITZBURG, SOUTH AFRICA  FEBRUARY 28: King Goodwill Zwelithini during the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature at Pietermaritzburg Show grounds on February 28, 2017 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Traditional attire and formal wear was the order of the day as King Goodwill Zwelithini opened the KZN legislature. (Photo by Gallo Images / The Times / Thuli Dlamini)

Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini is set to receive more millions, following an announcement by KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Willies Mchunu on Thursday.

The KZN provincial legislature sat for its 2018/19 budget vote on Thursday, where Mchunu revealed that Zwelithini’s annual budget is set to increase by over 11% to R65.8 million, from the previous figure of 58.8 million.

Some of the money will go towards the Royal Household Trust, but Mchunu did not specify the exact figure that’s been allocated.

“We are committed to ensuring that there will be much sharper focus on revenue generating activities of the royal household trust in the current financial year,” Mchunu said.

“A revenue generating plan has been development to pursue public-private partnerships in exploring opportunities to utilise the Zulu royal household brand as a potential source of income to relieve the trust’s dependency on the provincial fiscus.”

King Zwelithini’s Royal Household Trust

The Royal Household Trust was established to make the King’s family self sustainable, and earlier this year, an additional R5 million on top of the house’s annual budget was injected with the aim of kick starting fundraising initiatives to prevent the royal family solely depending on government funding.

It was also announced that the trust would spend R650 000 on a brand makeover for His Majesty, enlisting the help of US-based consulting firm B&C International to handle the rebranding.

The aim of this is to identify and attract investment opportunities from abroad that will strengthen the royal family’s economic standing.

The trust has been in place for over a decade, since it was established by former KZN Premier Sbu Ndebele way back in 2007.

According to Mchunu, the trust will be under the microscope and, should it not yield the desired results, it will be reviewed by the provincial government.